Greetings,

This is my first post on NAM, so please forgive any imprudent/silly/just-plain-wrong forum-speak. I just purchased my first MC (a 2007 Pure Silver MC) and am already exploring upgrade and customizations, mostly interior cosmetics. My biggest desire right now is to replace the manual shift **** with something more comfortable than the bulbous **** (err, ahh...that sounds bad) that comes stock. I really like the look of the JCW Alcantara shifter and would like to know if 1) anyone knows how to acquire one, and 2) is it easy to retrofit?

Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

2)Straddle the e-brake and pull up on it really hard. Be careful of your chin when it lets go though!

 

Here is a thread you might find interesting, and here is another.

Also see this page: http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/

 

You should look at this page too
http://www.robincasady.com/ShiftKnObsession/Index.html
Robin is modest...

 

Here's a thread I started on the subject before I got my Casady **** installed. It's tricky, and the tips in this thread are helpful. Look at the assembly from Whalen. The boot wraps up over the top of the black circular plastic ring at the bottom and goes into the center of that ring. The white flange that is part on the OEM **** inserts into the middle of that black plastic ring and tightly holds the boot into the assembly and it has 4 edges that protrude outward over the bottom of the black ring. The trick is to loosen (push in with something, your hand or preferably another hand with a hand pulling upward) the protruding edges of the white flange to allow you to pull the boot material up and over the inside of the black ring. Once the leather is freed you're home free. My assembly came off in a whole piece, black ring and all.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=105704
Here's my other thread from Mini2:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-i...hift-****.html

 

When my MCS arrived at the dealer I took one of my shift ***** (with Whalen adaptor) with me to pick the car up. I was unsure about removing the shift **** and asked my MA. He said, "No problem. We can do that before you leave." He got in the passenger seat, grabed the **** with both hands and pulled up hard. The entire **** came off cleanly. No big deal. You just need someone strong.

 

Wow Robin...Just checked out your *****...very sweet..

I especially like the African Blackwood...

 

I got one. Check out my gallery.

 

The one used to make clarinets, with a ishload of super gloss clear would be durable too I bet..And look nice for anyone going with the wood trim.

 

Hey! Watch that! I thought this was a family-friendly forum.

 

ROFL.....blush...not what I meant...my apologizes for the unintended pun...maybe Robin is a man..I just assumed...one of my best male friends name is Robin...OMG

 

wow, the American White Holly would look awesome in my Pepper White when I finally get it

 

The clarinet blanks are African Blackwood. It is great stuff. Works well, is very strong, and takes a good polish.

I use a finish that is said to have been developed by Sam Maloof. It is one part tung oil, one part Varithane varnish (oil based), and one part mineral spirits (to help the mixture penetrate the wood pores). This is wiped on, allowed to soak in, then wiped off. The process is repeated several times. I stop when I've reached a nice satin finish that still has the feel of wood. The wood is well sealed, but doesn't feel like it is plastic coated. More layers would give a glossy varnish look and feel.

Before adding the Maloof finish, I sand the wood down through a succession of sandpaper grits, ending with 1,000 or 1,500 grit (extremely fine). Then I polish with a cotton buffing wheel.

My interior is Piano Black and I am currently using an African Blackwood ****. I think it looks great. You don't need wood trim to have a wood ****. The shift **** stands alone, like a single jewel...

 

D'oh! My wife's name is Robin, so I assumed female...

 

That's a great point about not needing wood trim. My interior is also piano black, and that African Blackwood would look fantastic. Need to make a choice, I do!

 

I've been male as long as I can remember.

 

I have just installed one of Robin Casady's ***** in my R56 MINI which has a English Oak and Redwood Red Lounge Leather interior. I had originally ordered the wooden steering wheel, which was supposed to come with a wood shift **** and e-brake handle, but since that option was withdrawn, I have been suffering a bit of wood deprivation syndrome. To alleviate the symptoms, I ordered the **** shown below. I'm delighted with the workmanship, with the way it feels, and with the way it looks.

Because of reflections, the English Oak dash in this picture looks darker and more plasticy than it is in real life. I think the rosewood **** complements both the oak and the leather seats very well...attempting to exactly match either would be a mistake, IMHO, since they would never exactly match. This **** feels very nice, and is slightly smaller in diameter than the stock ****, or so it seems.

One tip: although the stock **** pops off (given sufficient force), the new Whalen adapter screws on--something that eluded me at first, while I was trying to pop it on.

 

Doug Whalen hadn't seen an '07 done before, so I got to demonstrate for him at MITM! MotorMouth's post really was all there was to it. Tug hard upwards, and the old ball comes loose. There's a plastic ring left under the boot that I removed to keep with the stock ****, and folded the top of the boot over, left it loosely up against the new ****.

My new shiftknob had the ring retainer-kind of like an air hose fitting, didn't screw on. You pull up on the ring, aligning the slot at the top of the shift lever with the inside of the ****.

Really easy. Took a whole minute.

 

Robin's shift ***** use the same attachment fitting as my stainless steel *****.
But instead of the fitting being press-fit into the steel ball, I thread the O.D. of it to screw into a brass insert that is glued inside Robins ***** (similar to my pool ball *****).

Looks like Robin buried the sliding collar up inside the wooden ****, to give it a cleaner look and lower the overall height of the ****.

Looks great, BTW!

 

I'll try and shoot some photos of the adaptor and other parts this afternoon.

I've got about eight new ***** in the works. They just need to be sanded and finished. I hope to have them posted on my web site by the end of the week. There are some really nice burls and a very rare Gabon Ebony (hard to find a piece large enough and solid enough for a shift ****).

 

Here is a photo of the Whalen adaptor. This part fits on the gear shift lever shaft. For those of you familiar with compressed air line quick connectors, Doug's adaptor has a similar mechanism. The outer sleeve has a taper inside. A spring pushes the sleeve down (as you see it below). This pushes some tiny steel ***** to protrude into the interior of the threaded tube. When installed on the MINI, the ***** protrude into a groove on the shaft, holding the adaptor in place.